Jack Hagerty, LUNAR #002
...NOT! Those of you still nursing millennial sized hangovers will be thrilled to know that it was all a year shy. The real millennium turnover isn't until next year. I know I'm being fairly anal retentive about this, but catch me privately if you want to know the real calendar story.
Y2K, on the other hand, only needed all the digits to clock over on the big chronometer, and that really did happen. If you're reading this (I'm typing it well beforehand) I guess the world really didn't come to an end after all.
Just a reminder about our meeting this month on the 12th. note that this is a WEDNESDAY. It will be at the usual place (Carnegie Building) at the usual time (7:30 to 9:30), but since the Lithophile Society already took half of our requested dates, we decided to move the meeting day to Wednesday for all meetings. A complete calendar can be found on the back of this issue (as with every issue) or on our web page.
This is going to be our auction meeting, postponed from last November, and I think all of you high power fliers out there will be keenly interested in this one. I was going to bemoan again the lack of auctionable items still since the past few launches have not generated much in the way of lost rockets. Then, at the last minute, Lynn Kissel (#009) wrote to tell me that since he's in Washington, D.C. for the next two years, he's donating his entire stash of reload kits to the club for the auction. I haven't picked them up yet, so I don't know what's included; you'll just have to show up and find out. Note that this does NOT include the motor casings, just the reload kits (Lynn may be generous, but he's not stupid!). For the rest of you, there are also a few relatively simple Estes type rockets in there as well that get our Junior members excited.
The other big thing at this month's meeting is our annual election. So far, the entire slate of officers has agreed to continue for the year. If you want to nominate someone else for an office, the nominations will remain open until the vote is taken. The slate will then be elected by voice vote.
In the November newsletter I made a request for those of you who are NAR members to please contact me with your NAR number, age category and whether or not you are insured (note that membership in the National organization is both optional and separate from your LUNAR membership). I need this information in order to fill our our charter renewal with the National. Well, I heard from a grand total of two of you (thanks, Norman and Christopher!)
I asked for it in November to try and get a jump on the renewal process (which happens every January), and I just received the renewal packet from HQ so now it's official. I'd appreciate it if those of you who are NAR members could send me the following info:
Name
NAR #
Age Division (Junior, Leader, Adult)
Whether you have the optional insurance
You can reach me by phone, e-mail or good old USPS at the numbers/addresses listed on the masthead. About the only way I ask that that you NOT give me this info is at a launch. I'm always so busy that I'll misplace it for sure.
Last August at NARAM in Pennsylvania I made six Astrocam flights; three on Monday and three on Wednesday. Tom has reprinted them elsewhere in this issue although if there isn't room for all of them in the paper edition, the rest will be in the on-line version. All of the flights were using C6-7 motors and all but one (#4) on the stock booster.
The three Monday flights were made about a half hour apart and from three different pads but they still all headed in the "forbidden" direction towards the competition range. More remarkable, is that all three flights had overlapping images! I've been flying Astrocams for six years and have never had any two anywhere close to being the same area, and here are three that fall on top of each other. I had some fun with my little photo manipulating program and rotated/sized them so they fit together acceptably. The area covers all of "vendor row" and part of the parking lot. At the left end, next to the yellow van, you can even see a giant model being worked on at the Tripoli Pittsburgh tent.
The three Wednesday flights were more typical. The flights went mostly to the West, but were vastly different. Flight #4 was the only one made on a non-standard booster (I used a Fred Williams-designed "Astrocam Carrier") and got so much more altitude, that it was only pitched over halfway when the charge fired. Flight #5 caught the field bathroom building square on with the added interest of the power pole right next to it. You can even see the power lines if you look hard. Flight #6 went a bit further and caught the edge of the adjacent bicycle track. The dirt "jump" is quite visible with three or four bicycles in the process of going over it. Down on the lower left, on "our" side of the road, you can see the yellow tape that marks the edge of the flying field.
Hope you enjoy them. The year seems to be off to a great start.